F8 2015 Virtual Reality Talks and Updates

Facebook Developer Conference 2015 ( a.k.a F8 ) that took place at Fort Mason Center on San Francisco Bay has just ended earlier this week. Facebook has made some important virtual reality related announcement and statement during the 2 days event. Mark Zuckerberg’s Day1 Keynote and Mike Schroepfer’s Day 2 Keyword both addressed Facebook’s ambitious plan to combine Facebook and virtual reality, and particularly in the news feed.

Fans in long lines to get inside F8 Image Source: Mirror UK

Facebook Introduces 360 Degree Videos in News Feed

Mark Zuckerberg announced on Facebook Developer Conference Day 1, that Facebook now supports showing 3D , 360 degree videos in the news feeds! You’ll need a pair of Oculus Rift In order to view the videos in 3D, but the problem is Oculus Rift consumer version hasn’t even been released yet… So, basically it means that 99 % of people cannot view the videos in 3D at this time.

Mark during his keynote presentation on Day1, in the background is a view from the top of a skyscraper. Image Source: 99rifter

The 3D, 360 videos will be made and upload by professionals at this stage, which did not address the issue that, how are people going to make, format and upload their videos to Facebook so it shows up correctly in the news feeds? “within a year or two,” Facebook Chief Technology Office Mike Schroepfer said, consumers will have access to relatively inexpensive cameras that can shoot such videos too, before sharing them with friends and family on Facebook. “All the components are there,”

Schroepfer also added that a Japanese Company named Ricoh is already offering a portable, pocket-sized camera for capturing 360 degree video. Hence users, don’t have to wait for Oculus Rift’s release to make their own 3D, 360 degree video.

F8 Announcement of 360 degree Video In FB News Feeds

On Facebook Developer Conference Day 1 , Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared an Oculus virtual reality demo of the city and its skyscrapers, it’s been described by attendees that the demo make you feel like you are standing on top of the skyscraper, and looking down!

We can safely guess that Facebook want the new 360 degree videos in the news feeds to be a fully immersive experience, not just a 2D video we are seeing now, and user can interact with the video when they scroll with their mouse pad.

Mark Zuckerberg’s VR keynote presentation on Day1

Mike Schroepfer, or “Schrep” as friends and people at Facebook calls him, celebrated his 40th Bday at Facebook Headquarter last week. A video documenting the Birthday Bash was taken by Mark Zuckerberg and shared on Facebook.

That was what actually had happened, but Schroepfer has a greater vision in mind for the future. In the future, when someone shares a video of an event he attended or a vacation he or she just took on Facebook, Facebook wants you to be in the fully immersive virtual reality experience of the video creator, as if you were actually there!

On Facebook Developer Conference Day 2, Mike Schroepfer goes beyond current virtual and augmented reality technology, and envisioned a much more exciting future. That, one day, You will be able travel the world virtually with a pair of head mounted device and a Facebook account. Be it New York’s Time Square, San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf or Lourve in Paris, you will be able to visit these places from Facebook on a pair of Oculus Rift!

Mike Schroepfer during his keynote presentation. Image Source: WIRED

Although even Facebook admits that virtual reality technology still has a long way to go , but no one can deny the virtual reality revolution is indeed happening! We are waiting to see how would Facebook proceed and handle 360 degree videos in the new feed, given that the mass majority of people do not own a VR headset. Here are all the links for the keynote presentations: https://developers.facebooklive.com/

Jay is a VR & Tech enthusiast and evangelist who is into all things geekery! Not your typical tech savvy engineer, but a self-indulging digital nerd that's attracted by the nouvelle vague of Virtual & Augmented Reality revolution!